Attachment for lathes



April 1', 192,4. 8 1,488,806

v o. F. CHURCH ATTACHMENT FOR LATHES Filed March 2. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1 192.4.

O. F. CHURCH ATTACHMENT FOR LATHES Filed March 2, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mr @Wwf Patented Apr. 1, 1924.

UNITED "S TA TES Y l,OMER F. CHUR-CH, QF, STEWARDSON, ILLINOIS.

ATTACHMENT ron LLnTHEs.

Application ledMarch 2, 1922.

To all whom t may concerne Be it known that l, OMER F. CHURCH, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Stewardson, in the county of .Shelby and State ot' Illinois, have invented certain new and usctul Improvements in `Attachments ttor Lat-hes, of which the following .is a specitication.

This invention is an attachment/for lathes intended more particularly for use in cutting key seats in shafts. One object of the invention is to provide a device which will operate efficiently and without the yapplication oi' a high degree of power, and another object of the invention is to provide simple and e'licient means whereby the cutting mechanism will be firmly supported and-may be readily adjusted to meet the conditions ot any particular pieceof work. l@ther incidental objects of the invention vwill appear inthe course ofthe following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved at-tachment in posit-ion upona lathe.;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section taken transversely of the vdriving shaft;

Fig. 3 is a detailv horizontal section 0n the line 3-3of Fig. y2;

Fig. 1- is a detail perspective View of 1a reinforcing bracket which may be employed in connection with `the attachment;

Fig. 5 is a view showing in perspective the lower end of the cutter spindle and cut-- ters whichv may be mounted thereon;

Fig. 6 isa detail view of the means for adjusting the'device to setthe cutter in a higher' or lower position.

'In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates aportion of the bed of a lathe and `2 indicates a tool rest ofthe usual form which issupported upon the bed of the lathe and may be adjusted longitudinally and transversely thereof. Upon the tool r-est2, I support abase 3 having a. standard 4f rising from one edge and this base'is secured to the tool rest-in a set position by headed bolts 5 extending through the 'base into 'the shouldered channel f6 of lthe tool rest and engaging a clamping plate 7 within the channel. The length of the clamping plate is nearly equal to the width of the tool rest and two or more bolts 5 are employed So that when the bolts are turned home the base will be securely fastened and cannot turn upon the rest when the ydevice is in ing Vis effected. f

Serial No. 540,562.

ribsor guides 12 which fit `closely to the ribs 10, as shown most clearly in Fig. 8, so

that., when the housing is lbeingrmoved up or down,lit vwill travel ina vertical rectilinear path'. The upper end of the standard 4 carries a `bearing or nut 8 in which is `mounted an yadjusting screw 13 provided with a hand wheel'14 at its upper end ,and having a circular head 15 at its lower end, said head being housed within a cap plate 15 secured-upon the housing whereby a swiveled connection,between the screw and the hous- Astud bolt 16 yis carried by :the gearhousing and passes ythrough ythe slot .i9 in the standard, a washer 17 `being interposed between the yhead 'of the bolt and the f ace of .the standard so that., when the bolt 1s turned fhome, :the gear housing willbe clamped .to the standard andsecurely supported. Loosening of the bolt will '0bviously, permit the housing-,to be adjusted vvertically 'through manipulation of ythe screw 13 so thatit'he cutter will be properly centered `with the shaft on which it is to act. The .housing kconsists primarily of a U-shaped casting turned on one side and having yits ends closed by plates or covers 18 whi ch are rig-idly secured thereto. The driving shaft 19 is' supported inthe side or cover plates 18, bushings 20 `beingitted -about the shaft to providebearings therefor the said plates 18. lBetween the 4,bushings, a. worm 2l 'is `secured to the vshaft,- yand this Vworm .meshes with a worm gear .22 which issecured in any'desired 'orppre- 'ferred mannerto aspindle123Whioh is disposed veitically rin the rear ends of the yhousing 11 and :may rotate in hushingsQet provided in the top and bottom ofthe housing. The lower portion of v'the spindle 23 -is constructed with the annular'seats 2551and 12,6 to either of which a cutter lmay ,bets'ecured. The cutters are preferably disks 28 having cutter teeth 2T `in their :edges and theymay he retained vupontheir respective seats in any desired manner` Inasmuoh as a single cutting disk is not suitable for all classes of Work and a disk of small diameter must necessarily have a central opening of relatively less diameter than a larger cutter,

it is necessary to provide a plurality of seats upon the cutter spindle. lt is also necessary, to `cut a key seat in a shaft in a proper manner, to have the cutter disposed upon a. radius of the shaft in which the key seat is to be cut, as will be readily understood upon reference to Fig. 2, in which a relatively large cutter 28 is arranged to cut a seat in a shaft 29. The desired vertical adjustment of the cutter is obtained by adjusting vthe entire gear cas-ing vertically so that a. very slight shifting of the gear casing will bring the cutter into proper relation to the shaft rupon which it is to act. ln the same manner, a single cutter may be adjusted to work upon shafts of various di ameters.

The driving shaft 19 projects beyond one side plate 18 to an extent sufoient to permit a band pulley 30 to be secured thereto. This pulley is constructed with annular flanges 3l so that the driving belt 32 will be `-received between the said flanges and will be thereby caused to travel with the attachment when it is shifted longitudinally of the lathe bed. The belt is driven in the usual manner from an overhead pulley as will be'readily understood. rlhe cutter is continuously rotated as the attachment is adjusted upon the bed lathe so that the cutter may be fed along the shaft as the cutting of the seat progresses and any desired length of seat produced.

I consider it advantageous and have found it sometimes to be necessary to reinforce the tool rest so that it will elfectually withstand the strains placed thereon and will properly support the attachment. To this end, I eniploy a bracket consisting of a base plate 33 having a central opening ethrough which the bolt 5 may pass and a tool rest engaging arm 35 depending from the rear edge of the base plate 33, as shown at 36, so as to pass under and clear the lower end of the cutter spindle, the rear end of this arm being forked, as shown at 37, and terminating in claws or hooks 38 to engage the edges of the tool rest, as indicated in Fig. 2. This bracket adds very little to the weight of the attachment and very efliciently reinforces and braces the tool rest so that the weight of the gear housing 11 will not bend the retaining bolt 5 nor place breaking strain upon the tool rest.

The operation of my apparatus is thought to be evident from the foregoing description, and it will be readily noted that the driving gearing is almost entirely enclosed by the gear housing soV that dust will not accumulate on the working part-s and create excessive wear thereon nor clog the operation. Moreover, the cutter is disposed below the gear housing so that the liability of the operator to be injured by contact with the cutter is minimized. The provision of worm gearing permits the cutter to be driven at the proper speed under a low power and also reduces the tendency of the opposed surfaces of the gearing to strip each other besides providing an even steady continuous movement of the cutter.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A key seat cutting attachment for lathes comprising a support adapted to be secured upon the tool rest of a lathe, a gear housing secured to and projecting rearwardly from said support, a cutter spindle mounted vertically in the top and bottom of said gear housing and extending therethrough at the rear endA thereof, a cutter secured upon the lower end of said spindle below the housing, a worin gear secured upon said spindle between the top and bottom of the housing, a driving shaft mounted in the sides of the housing and extending through the housing between the front end of the same and the spindle, a worm upon said shaft within the housing meshing with the worm gear, and means on one end of said shaft forrotating the same.

2. ln a key seat cutting attachment for lathes, the combination of a support adapted to be secured upon the tool rest of a lathe and including a standard provided with a vertical slot and having an overhanging bearing at its upper end, a gear housing disposed adjacent the rear side of said standard and extending over the tool rest, interengaging guides on the opposed surfaces of the standard and the gear housing, a bolt carried by the housing and playing in the slot in the standard, an adjusting screw carried by the bearing at the upper end of the standard and having its lower end swiveled to the housing, and1 a cutter carried at the rear end of said housing.

3. rEhe combination with a tool rest of a lathe, of a support adapted to be secured upon the tool rest, a gear housing carried by said support, a cutter carried by said housing, means for operating said cutter, and a bracket having a-base plate fitting over the tool rest and under the said support, and an arm extending from said base and provided with a forked rear end adapted to engage the sidejedges of the tool rest.

In testimony whereof aix my signature.

OMER F. CHURCH. [Ls] 

